Leaning heavily on her walking stick as she hobbled into a shopping
centre on a wet and windy day, great-grandmother Peggy Harden was
planning to step into the warmth of a store before taking off her hood.

But before she had the chance the 84-year-old was approached by
a burly security guard who ordered her to stop concealing her face.

He told the arthritic pensioner that the centre has a 'no hoods' policy for security reasons.

Confused and intimidated, Mrs Harden - who suffers from
neuralgia, which is triggered by draughts and causes shooting pains in
her face - immediately complied.

It was only afterwards that she and her husband Desmond, also 84, realised the injustice of their treatment
- especially as children wearing hoods were going into the centre
unchallenged.

Mr Harden, who also walks with a stick, said: 'We felt victimised, we were being treated like criminals.'

The couple, from Sawston in Cambridgeshire, had entered the
Grand Arcade centre in Cambridge last week and were heading for a branch of John Lewis when they were approached.

Breaking the rules: Mrs Harden and her husband Desmond, who also uses a walking stick, were left feeling confused and intimidated by the episode

'The man had a badge and a uniform so I thought I had done something wrong,' said Mrs Harden, a former cook.

'He said, "Would you mind taking your hood off?" I looked at him amazed and he said something about security. I didn't really know what was happening.'

A spokesman for the Grand Arcade shopping centre apologised for upsetting Mr and Mrs Harden but said the policy banning hoods was 'to ensure a safe and enjoyable shopping experience for everyone'.